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Utah Tech Football Media Central
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FOR STARTERS: • Utah Tech wraps up its three-game road swing, and its 2023 non-conference slate, this Saturday night against FBS opponent and Mountain West Conference member Colorado State. 
• Saturday's game will be the first-ever meeting between the Trailblazers and Rams on the gridiron. 
• Utah Tech returns to the "Centennial State" for the first time since becoming a D-I FCS program in 2020. Prior to making the jump to the FCS level, the Trailblazer program was a member of the D-II Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference for four seasons from 2016-19. 
• Utah Tech is 20-20 all-time vs. teams from Colorado, and is 7-11 as the road team.
• Saturday's game at Colorado State will mark the third time Utah Tech has faced an NCAA D-I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) opponent since beginning its D-I transition.
• UT squared off against then-FBS independent New Mexico State in the 2021 spring season in El Paso, Texas (Sun Bowl), in a game that the Blazers actually led 14-10 at the half before the Aggies rallied for a 36-29 victory (3/7/21). 
• In addition, Utah Tech played at in-state foe BYU to close out the 2022 season (11/19/22). The Trailblazers also led for most of the first half against the homestanding Cougars, but their upset bid was quelled in the second half as BYU pulled away for a 52-26 win.  
• Utah Tech enters Saturday night's game looking to rebound from a lopsided 59-14 road loss at Missouri State last Saturday afternoon in Springfield. 
 
UTAH TECH ON THE AIR: All Utah Tech home and away games this season are broadcast live on The Fan Sports Network (99.5/95.3 FM in St. George; 93.1 FM/1400 AM in Cedar City; www.thefansportsnetwork.com).
            The "Voice of the Trailblazers" Rod Zundel is in his second season calling the play-by-play action. 
            Utah Tech has also debuted a new 60-minute comprehensive pregame show, and 30-minute post-game show, both of which will air live on the The Fan Sports Network and streamed live on YouTube on the newly created Trailblazer SportsVision (youtube.com/TrailblazerAthletics).
            Along with complete Game Day radio coverage, Zundel hosts the weekly "The Paul Peterson Coaches Show" every Tuesday night on The Fan Sports Network and streamed on Trailblazer SportsVision at 6 p.m.
            Joining Zundel in the broadcast booth this season is former Trailblazer wide receiver Deven Osborne, who will provide color analysis for all home game and select road games. 
 
NEW CONFERENCE FOR 2023: Utah Tech began the 2023 season in a new football only league as the established football-only partnership between both the Western Athletic and ASUN conference was rebranded into the new United Athletic Conference. 
            The newly christened UAC currently has nine participating institutions: Abilene Christian, Austin Peay, Central Arkansas, Eastern Kentucky, North Alabama, Southern Utah, Stephen F. Austin, Tarleton and Utah Tech. In addition, the conference will officially add UTRGV in the fall of 2025 when it begins sponsorship of football.
            The 2023 UAC schedule will be limited to six conference games among its nine members, while the 2024 schedule will feature a full eight-game single round robin. 
 
THREE BLAZERS EARN PRESEASON ALL-UAC HONORS: Utah Tech had three players voted onto the UAC's debut preseason all-conference team. 
            Junior DL Syrus Webster was tabbed as the preseason UAC Defensive Player of the Year, while he and junior LB Will Leota were voted to the All-UAC Defensive Team.
            Meanwhile, senior WR Rickie Johnson was the lone Blazer listed on the All-UAC Offensive Team. 
 
WEBSTER ON WATCH LIST: In addition to his UAC preseason honor, Webster has been named to the 2023 Buck Buchanan Award preseason watch list. The junior defensive standout was also named to both the 2023 Phil Steele and Blue Bloods All-United Athletic Conference preseason first teams.
 
O CAPTAINS! MY CAPTAINS!: Utah Tech will take the field in 2023 with four team captains leading the charge. As selected by their teammates, this season's captains are senior offensive lineman Kana'i Eldredge, along with Johnson, Leota and Webster. 
 
ROAD WARRIORS: Through its first three seasons of FCS play, Utah Tech has traveled more than 28,300 round-trip miles on 14 different road trips. 
            In their first FCS season in Spring 2021, the Trailblazers covered 7,630 miles for three road dates, then followed that up by traversing nearly 13,300 for five road games during the 2021 Fall campaign.
            Last season Utah Tech traveled just 7,424 miles, thanks in large part to playing three in-state road games at Weber State, Southern Utah and BYU.
            This season, the Blazers are slated to eclipse that 2021 Fall mileage mark as they are scheduled to travel just over 15,000 round-trip miles for seven road games, including the program's first-ever trips to the states of Missouri (at Missouri State last Saturday), Alabama (at North Alabama - Oct. 21) and Tennessee (at Austin Peay - Nov. 11). 
            Utah Tech has already played games in Montana and neighboring Arizona prior to making the trip to Colorado this Saturday. The Blazers will also jump on the bird for their now annual trip to Texas in November (at Abilene Christian - Nov. 4).
            Of note, Utah Tech's longest trip to play a football game came during the 2021 Fall season, when the Trailblazers traveled 4,697 miles round trip to play at Delaware (10/30/21). 
 
LEGENDARY TIE THAT BINDS UTAH TECH AND COLORADO STATE: Though the two sides have never met on the football field, both Utah Tech and Colorado State have a legendary tie that binds both programs. 
            That tie - legendary head coach Sark Arslanian, who to this day is noted as one of the most successful head coaches in college football history - at any level. 
            Arslanian, who was inducted into the Utah Tech Hall of Fame in 1999, and the University's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007, patrolled the sidelines in both St. George and Fort Collins during his storied career.
            "Coach Sark" began his collegiate coaching career at then-Dixie College in 1955, when he became athletic director and head football, baseball, and trackcoach.
            Under his leadership, the College's athletics programs, particularly football, thrived, as did the college as a whole, as his overall recruiting efforts nearly doubled the school's enrollment and helped send the institution on a trajectory to where it is today.
            Arslanian remained in Dixie College until 1965, when he was named head coach at Weber State.
            Then 50 years ago in 1973, "Coach Sark" moved on to Fort Collins to become the head coach at Colorado State. 
            Much like he was two decades earlier in St. George, Arslanian was also credited with revitalizing the Ram program. He spent nearly nine full seasons at CSU and posted a 45-47-4 overall record, highlighted by a 9-2-1 mark in 1977. 
             
KICKIN' IT AT THE TOP: Junior placekicker Connor Brooksby has had quite the start to his 2023 season as he has etched his name atop three more career records lists. 
            The junior, who is already UT's career leader in field goals made (31-of-43), became the program's career leader in PATs (63-of-64) with the second of his two PATs midway through the fourth quarter at Montana State (9/2). 
            He followed that up by becoming the program's career leader in points scored (158 pts) with the first of his single game school record five field goals in the road win at Northern Arizona on Sept. 16. 
            Brooksby's career day at NAU broke the tie he had with former All-American tight end Joe Don Duncan (136 pts - 22 TDs/2 2-pt conversions; 2011-13) atop the points list. 
            Brooksby went on to hit field goals of 22, 48, 34, 40 and 48 yards, and nailed all five PAT chances at NAU, en route to a 20-point day and to Stats Perform FedEx Ground FCS National Special Teams Player of the Week honors (9/18). 
            In addition, Brooksby is UT's current record holder in season field goals made (14-of-17, 2022), and owns the school record for the longest made FG, a 55-yarder he nailed last season in a home win vs. Southern Utah (11/5/22).
            Brooksby has also hit three 48-yard field goals this season, including the two at NAU, and a 48-yarder in the fourth quarter at Montana State, all of which are tied for the fifth-longest made field goal in the program's NCAA era.
 
PROVIDING AN INSTANT SPARK: Freshman WR Beau Sparks had himself quite the debut in UT's season opener at Montana State back on Sept. 2. 
            The speedy wideout announced his presence with authority late in the first quarter when he got behind the Bobcat secondary and hauled in his first collegiate pass, a 66-yard catch-and-run that helped set up the Trailblazers' first points of the night.
            Sparks would later record a 33-yard reception in the second quarter, which ultimately led to his first collegiate touchdown catch from 4-yards out with 3:21 to play in the first half.
            Sparks wound up with a Utah Tech freshman school record 144 receiving yards on seven catches along with his TD.
            Sparks' 144 receiving yards are also tied for the 21st-most on Utah Tech's single game list. The freshman joined former UT All-American Joey Hobert (144 yds vs. Southern Utah, 2022) and Nash Fowler in that three-way tie.
            In fact, Fowler was the first to post that number, which he did on eight receptions with a touchdown in a road game at, coincidentally, Montana State during the 2009 season (9/12/09).
 
SPARKS JOINS AN ELITE LIST: Sparks also became the first freshman to record a 100-yard receiving game in his collegiate debut, and is just the fourth freshman in Utah Tech's NCAA era to post a 100-yard receiving game overall.
            Former Blazer wideout Isaiah Wooden (116 yds vs. Colorado School of Mines) was the last freshman to do it in 2018. Skyler Ence (101 vs. Colorado Mesa) was the first UT freshman receiver in the program's first NCAA D-II season in 2006, while Dejuan Dantzler (106 vs. New Mexico Highlands) joined the elite list in 2016.  
            Sparks' 144 receiving yards were also the fourth-most in a season opener in program history, and he became the ninth receiver to go for 100-plus receiving yards in a season opener overall.
            Former UT receiver Travis Brown set the standard with 230 yards in the program's first-ever NCAA game, which was played at Colorado Mesa in 2006. Former Blazer Kyser Christensen (215 at Adams State, 2009) is the lone other receiver to eclipse the 200-yard plateau, while Hobert went for 183 yards on 11 catches in last season's season opener at Sacramento State (9/10/22).
 
MORE ON SPARKS: Sparks earned UAC Freshman of the Week honors on Sept. 18, after he tied a career-high with seven receptions for 87 yards at NAU. 
            The freshman, who is UT's leading receiver (23 rec./282 yds) has caught at least four passes in all four games this season, including a team-high five grabs for 31 yards at Missouri State last week. 
 
TURNING DEFENSE INTO POINTS: Utah Tech forced a season-high five turnovers in its win at NAU on Sept. 16. In fact, 21 of the Trailblazers' 50 points were scored off of those five Lumberjack miscues, including two defensive touchdowns. 
            Three of the NAU's five turnovers came in UT's 27-point second quarter. Senior DL Sam Kanongata'a got the unit's first defensive touchdown of the season he picked off NAU QB Kai Millner and rambled 53 yards to pay dirt for his first career pick-6.
            Then just over three minutes later after a Utah Tech punt pinned the Lumberjacks deep inside their own territory, Millner could not handle a high snap and the ball bounded backwards to the NAU 9, where sophomore DB Amari Duncan scooped up the loose ball and sprinted to the end zone for his first collegiate TD.
            On NAU's very next offensive play, backup QB Adam Damante came on and fired a strike to Blazer freshman DB Gabriel Valenzuela, and the freshman's first collegiate interception helped set up the first of two Brooksby field goals in the period.
            Utah Tech's two scores on defense last Saturday marked the fourth time in program history that the Blazers had scored at least two defensive touchdowns in a game.
            UT last achieved that feat in 2022 with a pair of pick-6s at home vs. Chadron State (56-10; 9/10/22), and returned two more interceptions for touchdowns in a road win at Adams State (52-10; 11/10/18) during the 2018 season. 
            Utah Tech also returned two interceptions and a fumble for touchdowns in a road victory at New Mexico Highlands (W, 55-0; 9/21/19) in Paul Peterson's first year as UT head coach, and was the program's final D-II year in 2019. 
 
BLAZING TRAILS
• RS-junior QB Kobe Tracy saw his streak of throwing at least one touchdown pass halted at three games in last Saturday's loss at Missouri State ... Tracy finished 17-41-4 passing for 167 yards and completed passes to seven different receivers.
• However Tracy did record his second-career rushing touchdown in the second quarter at MSU on a 1-yard QB sneak ... coincidentally, Tracy's first rushing TD came against Missouri State, that one a 4-yard scamper, at home in the 2021 fall season finale (11/20/21).
• Tracy notched his fifth-career 300-yard passing game after he threw for a season-high 318 yards with two touchdowns in the win at NAU (9/16).
• Tracy completed 19 of his 32 attempts and also hit seven different receivers.
• Tracy is currently second on both the UT career passing (3,874) and total offense (3,859) lists, while his two TD tosses at NAU vaulted him to third all-time in career touchdown passes (24).
• Tracy has thrown at least two touchdown passes in two of his last three outings, and in eight career games overall. 
• Tracy also recorded his collegiate career-long completion at NAU when he connected with senior WR Rickie Johnson for a 70-yard catch-and run late in the first quarter, which was one of Johnson's three receptions for a season-high 90 yards.  
• Johnson currently stands eighth on UT's career receiving yards list (1,458), and he is also eighth all-time in career receptions (104) and receiving TDs (10). 
• Fellow senior WR Michael Moten hauled in four passes for a season-high 76 yards at NAU (9/16), highlighted by a career-long 60-yard catch-and-run for his fourth-career touchdown in the third quarter. 
• Moten's last touchdown reception came in the 2022 season opener at Sacramento State (9/3/22), while his 76 yards receiving last Saturday are second only to his 99 yards on six catches and a TD he recorded at Delaware (10/30/21) in 2021. 
• Senior WR Jaivian Lofton recorded his second TD reception of the year after he hooked up with Tracy for a 17-yard score in the second quarter at NAU (9/16). 
• Lofton made the most of his home debut vs. Montana (9/9), against which he caught five passes for 108 yards, highlighted by a 50-yard reception in the third quarter, and a 23-yard touchdown grab in the fourth.
• Lofton, who transferred to Utah Tech after playing three seasons at FBS member Liberty University, where he recorded 10 receptions for 102 and two touchdowns in 10 games for the Flames in 2022. 
• RS-Junior WR Keith Davis caught both of his two targets at Missouri State last week for a team and season-high 61 yards, highlighted by a 43-yard grab in the first quarter to set up the Blazers' first touchdown of the day. 
• Davis, who missed the entire 2022 season due to injury, has recorded at least one reception in 14 of his 15 career games as a Trailblazer, including all 11 games during the 2021 fall season. 
• Fifth-year RB Ronnie Walker Jr. ran for his second, and at the time the team's second, touchdown of the 2023 campaign to put Utah Tech on the board at Missouri State, against which he racked up 38 hard-fought yards on 11 carries ... Walker Jr. also found the end zone to close out the first quarter in the win at NAU (9/16). 
• For Walker Jr., it was his sixth-career rushing touchdown on his third different team ... Walker Jr. recorded two rushing touchdowns as a freshman at Indiana in 2018, and ran for two more during his junior year at Virginia in 2021. 
• Walker Jr., who posted a season-high 55 yards on 11 carries (5.0 ypc) vs. Montana (9/9), before going for 49 yards on 16 carries at NAU (9/16), and began the year with 10 carries for 52 yards at Montana State (9/2). 
• Utah Tech posted a season-high 144 yards rushing at Missouri State, with junior RB Chris Street leading the way with a season-high 62 yards on 10 carries (6.2 ypc).  
• Freshman RB Nygel Osborne enjoyed a breakout night in his home debut against Montana (9/9), as he rushed for 48 yards on six carries (8.0 ypc), highlighted by a career-long 19 yard scamper on his first carry late in the first quarter.  
• After going just over two full seasons without posting a double-digit tackle game, junior DL Syrus Webster racked up a career-high 12 total tackles (5 solo) vs. Montana (9/9) ... Webster was also credited with a 0.5 TFL and one QBH.
• Webster then doubled-down and collected 10 more tackles at NAU (9/16), including a career-high tying 3.0 TFLs and two sacks, highlighted by a fourth-quarter strip sack that set up Brooksby's final field goal of the game. 
• Webster's two sacks also vaulted him into fifth place on UT's career sacks list (9.5 sacks), leaving him 4.5 sacks shy of becoming the program's career sacks leader ... the junior (18.0 TFLs) is also two TFLs away from cracking into the top-10 on that career list, while his 3.0 TFLs at NAU tied his previous career-high set in last year's home win vs. Southern Utah (11/5/22).  
• Junior LB Will Leota recorded a season-high 10 tackles (8 solo) at NAU (9/16) and came up with his third career interception in the third quarter.
• The three Trailblazer interceptions defensively at NAU also tied for the eighth-most in the program's NCAA era, and tied for the most interceptions recorded in UT's NCAA Division I FCS transition.
• Senior LB Dondi Fuller has racked up at least five tackles in all four games this season, including five stops at Missouri State, and eight more with a 0.5 TFLs at NAU (9/16) ... that effort came on the heels of a career-high 11 tackles vs. Montana (9/9).  
• Fuller enjoyed a strong Trailblazer debut as he led the UT defense with nine total tackles, including seven solo stops, and a team-high 2.0 TFLs at Montana State (9/2).
• Sophomore LB Jared Fotu, who led the team with a career-high 11 stops at NAU (9/16), followed that up with six tackles at Missouri State, while sophomore DB Jagger Williams posted a team-high eight stops at Missouri State, which chased a nine-tackle effort at NAU. 
• After being held without a sack in the season opener at Montana State (9/2), the Blazer defense combined for three sacks and 6.0 TFLs vs. Montana, and then duplicated that effort at NAU one week later. 
• Utah Tech has registered at least one sack in three-straight games, in 10 of its last 14, and in 23 of 31 games during the program's FCS transition. 
• Senior DL Max Christensen III was credited with his first-career field goal block last Saturday at Missouri State ... the senior's blocked FG came nearly one-year-to-the-day from the last one, which Kanongata'a recorded last season at home vs. Abilene Christian (10/1/22),
• Junior punter Andy Day "had a day" last Saturday at Missouri State, against which he punted five times for 222 yards (44.4 ypp), highlighted by a season long 56-yard boot in the first quarter.
• Day also made a potential touchdown-saving tackle after his first punt of the game. 
• Day then closed his afternoon with a 30-yard run on a fake punt in the fourth quarter, which was his first career collegiate rushing attempt ... in addition, Day's scamper is the Trailblazers' longest run from scrimmage through four games this season.
 
#AB3FOREVER: Webster was presented with one more honor prior to the start of the 2023 season as he was chosen to wear the No. 3 jersey.
            The awarding of the No. 3 jersey is the third instance in what has become an annual tradition honoring the memory of former Trailblazer football player Abraham Reinhardt, who passed away unexpectedly on March 22, 2019. Utah Tech Head Football Coach Paul Peterson noted that the No. 3 jersey would be awarded to a student-athlete who best emulates Reinhardt's leadership, both on and off the field. 
            "When we lost a great young man in Abraham [in 2019], we wanted to honor him and his legacy the best we possibly could," Coach Peterson said. "Abe was a perfect representative of our team culture which focuses on toughness, hard work, trust and accountability.
            "I am excited to award Syrus Webster the number 3 jersey for the 2023 season," Coach Peterson added. "He exemplifies everything that we are trying to build in our program and especially represents the legacy Abraham Reinhardt left behind. Look for him to lead us and make plays all over the field!"
 
WE'RE GOING STREAKING: Heading into Saturday's game at Colorado State, four Trailblazer defenders enter the game with some impressive streaks on the line.
            Webster has recorded at least one tackle in 27-straight games, while junior safety Jordan Scott (19-straight), Leota (15-straight), and Christensen III (10-straight) will all seek to continue their impressive double-digit game tackle streaks. 
 
ABOUT THE COLORADO STATE "RAMS": Colorado State enters Saturday's game on the heels of a 31-23 road win at Middle Tennessee last Saturday night. The Rams opened the year with a 50-24 home loss to Washington State (9/2), which was followed two weeks later by a nationally-televised double-OT heart breaker at in-state rival No. 18/21 Colorado in Boulder (43-35; 9/16).  
            Redshirt freshman quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi has started the last two games under center for the Rams, and has thrown for over 300 yards in both starts, including 367 yards and three TDs in the loss at Colorado. 
            Fowler-Nicolosi's favorite target is senior WR Tory Horton, who has already caught 35 passes for 313 yards and three touchdowns through three games this season. 
            On defense, junior LB Chase Wilson has racked up a team-high 31 total tackles in three starts, while former Trailblazer safety Tyrell Grayson Jr., who has played in only one game (1 tackle) as a Ram so far during his junior season, may line up against his old team on Saturday night. 
            As a team, CSU averages 30.0 points and 468.0 yards (57.3 rush/354.0 pass) over its first three games, while giving up 38.7 points and 468.0 yards (103.7 rush/364.3 pass) defensively. 
            Jay Norvell (Iowa, 1986) is in his second season at Colorado State, where he is 4-11 overall, and 37-37 through six-plus seasons as a head coach. 
            
NEXT UP FOR THE TRAILBLAZERS: Utah Tech returns home for its United Athletic Conference debut game next Saturday night, Oct. 7, when the Trailblazers host Stephen F. Austin. Kick-off inside Greater Zion Stadium is set for 7 p.m. (MDT).